A Conceptual Design for an Imploding-Liner Fusion Reactor (Linus).
Abstract
This report describes the conceptual design of a fusion reactor based on the dynamic compression of a magnetically-confined DT plasma by an imploding liquid lead-lithium liner. Stable implosion-expansion cycles are achieved by rotating the liner, and imploding it by a means of a rigid mechanism driven by high pressure helium (the 'captive liner' principle). At peak compression the magnetic field is 0.5 MG and the liner is 1 m thick, which is enough to absorb the fusion neutrons. The energy of the trapped alpha-particles is directly recovered in the expansion and compensates for the resistive and mechanical losses in the liner, making the mechanical cycle self-sustaining. The reactor works rather like an internal combustion engine, except that there is no shaft output: all the nuclear energy appears in the liner as heat. The initial plasma is created by means of a pulsed rotating relativistic electron beam injected from one end. The beam sets up both the plasma and the confining magnetic field, and no external magnet coils are required. The reactor is repetitively cycled at 1.67 Hz for a gross electrical power output of 1000 MW.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1978
- Accession Number
- ADA060588
Entities
People
- A. E. Robson
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory